UDATE on Adopting a 25 year old Green Naped Parrot

[marie83]

Distraction which will in turn lead to independance, you need to try to teach her that other stuff is fun too so she becomes more independant. Does she have a play tree/stand? If so fill it with lots of interesting things to do, show her how to have fun on it, hide little treats and foot toys on it for a while so she will spend some time hunting round for food.
If shes getting too friendly with you like putting her beak in your mouth, completely ignore her or set her down somewhere for a short time. Your not being mean at all, just setting the groundrules so you can have a long happy future together with a mutual respect which is a far kinder option than letting her be completely dependant on you.

[Wayne361]

Start target training to develop activities outside of her wanting to cuddle with you all the time. Once target trained you can start adding new tricks to the roster. This gives you plenty of interaction time with your new parrot, plus adding to the bond as well as producing a better behaved parrot in the long run.

Wayne

[susiequ53]

New set of problems! We are working out the kinks on the regurgitating problems and adding more toys for distractions etc and that's going pretty well. I don't know if this was a fluke or if Katie just work up on the wrong side of the perch this morning but she has been a terror! No change in schedule, food, the usual morning routine. Katie is on her play top, I'm doing all the normal things, feeding the other birds, singing with the radio, we're entertaining each other, interacting and she attacks me! What the heck?? I mean, she actually was flogging me and brought blood to my arm and was trying to get to my shoulder/face. I was bit even harder in the process but I did extract her as gently as possible and put her back in her cage and covered her. Oh, and I also told her sternly "Bad Katie!" several times. What was that all about? Was she jealous of the others or just showing assertiveness of what? Did I handle this right or/and how should I handle it again in the future if it should happen? We were getting along famously and spending long times together on the couch at night. I do not understand. Now I can hear her under the cover softly saying "hello?" How sad is that! What to do guys?

[susiequ53]

A P.S. to new set of problems. After about 10 minutes of solitude, I let Katie back out, gave her breakfast and ignored her until she started saying soft hellos. She almost gently climbed back to my shoulder (nipped once) and was chirping away while I play online Scrabble and again out of the blue attacks my glasses. Again with the stern NO and now she backs to be herself again. I am no expert with larger and older parrots and I'm beginning to feel I can't trust her and I know she will pick up on this. I'm guessing her 25 years of little interaction and play has a lot to do with this but if she is shown love and care why is she taking her past aggressions out on me? Okay. She just this minute bit my head twice, Hard! Put her back on her play top with a struggle. I feel we are going backward in warp speed. What's happened??

[Eurycerus]

With biting you have to figure out what works for your parrot to get her to stop. It sounds like your method isn't working, ie telling her no and setting her someplace. Seems to me that she wants your attention! Change your method. Do something else, don't keep doing what's not working.

I don't quite trust Nika either when she's on my shoulder. I'm concerned about her nips evolving into full on bites. I'm sure it would be very sexy to get a scar on my face but I'd rather not. Also some days Nika is just cranky, not related to diet, or anything I did. Those days I tend to ignore her and not have her out as much to reduce the chance of getting bitten. Then the next day she does a complete 180. Just wait out the day. You'll be okay! I promise :] I get frustrated too and confused and annoyed at what appears to be two steps back.

[liz]

Katie isn't bad. You just don't understand her yet.

I use "no" in a firm soft voice or "owe" softly. Myrtle knows both words. For some reason they pick up on those words fast just like a little child.

[susiequ53]

Thanks all! I will continue to persevere. Cautiously. Initially I was afraid she would have trust issues with me. Not the other way around, :[ Sure hope we can both get over this hump! You're right Liz. I do not understand her, wish I could get into her head. Anyone know a good Bird Whisperer lol?

[cmaygar]

A P.S. to new set of problems. After about 10 minutes of solitude, I let Katie back out, gave her breakfast and ignored her until she started saying soft hellos. She almost gently climbed back to my shoulder (nipped once) and was chirping away while I play online Scrabble and again out of the blue attacks my glasses. Again with the stern NO and now she backs to be herself again. I am no expert with larger and older parrots and I'm beginning to feel I can't trust her and I know she will pick up on this. I'm guessing her 25 years of little interaction and play has a lot to do with this but if she is shown love and care why is she taking her past aggressions out on me? Okay. She just this minute bit my head twice, Hard! Put her back on her play top with a struggle. I feel we are going backward in warp speed. What's happened??

It's not a good idea to put any amazon parrot on your shoulder. She can easily bite your face and maim you. Keep her below your shoulder level at all times. For this reason, she shouldn't be placed at the top of her cage where she is at a level higher than your shoulder. If you take her out, place her on a bird stand so that her head is never above your shoulder height. Amazons in particular can become very aggressive if they are placed in a higher position than your shoulder. When she attacked you, she may have been asserting aggressive behavior to show you that she is the boss.

Please go to amazon.com and buy some books about amazon parrots, amazon parrot behavior and about training amazon parrots. You may end up seriously injured if you don't have a fundamental knowledge about amazons. They are much different than any type of bird that you have experience with. The mistakes that you are making are easily avoidable, but it's in your best interest to learn about amazons before you get hurt badly. I've been around amazons for 30 years and you really need to be careful.

[susiequ53]

Thank you ! I have already ordered several books but the innermost problems are with her original owner who had never attempted to train her so after 25 years of "nothing" I have to expect this. There really is not a chapter on adopting older, untrained parrots. I just didn't know how much or to what extent her attitude or personality would go. She has already shown wonderful progress and I do not want to give up on her nor do I want her to keep attacking me! Hmmmm. Dilemma. In reference to the play pen, it is below head level (I'm almost 6ft) but the issues with the shoulder I can see where you're coming from, at least until she is more trust worthy. She has been quite gentle for weeks until today. I'm not sure what set her off. She was no friendlier when I came home from work tonight. This whole thing is really throwing me off because last night we had a great time together with no issues or aggression. Time and patience will tell. Thank you so much for your advise.

[cmaygar]

There's a good book about re-training older birds called "The Second Hand Parrot" by Mattie Sue Athan. It's available on amazon.com. I would highly recommend that you get that book. Yellow Naped Amazons are one of the most difficult amazon species to train (and to keep trained) even when you get one as a hand-fed baby. Yellow Naped males especially can be very aggressive and dangerous if not handled properly. Unsocialized hens also can be difficult birds. Never let this bird near your face. I have a friendly young Green Cheeked Amazon that was hand-raised and I will never let him on my shoulder - period. I also don't place him on top of his cage so that he is placed above my shoulder. You never know what an amazon will do even if it has not shown any previous aggressive tendencies. Yours has shown aggressive behavior so heed the warning, keep the bird away from your face and head and don't get hurt. They can cause serious injuries to you.